FOR 30 years, they were the symbol of the Mersey's shipbuilding prowess.

But yesterday saw the end of an era with the demolition of the three cranes at the former Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead.

Three massive explosions shook much of Liverpool and Wirral and brought the once mighty cranes down with a crash.

Their removal at 11am, watched by hundreds of people on both sides of the river, set off car alarms and caused a number of concerned calls to Merseyside police.

The landmarks were being destroyed by the yard's new owners after more than a decade derelict and unused.

Many also regard it as symbolic of the end of large-scale shipbuilding in Merseyside.

Without the cranes, the site, which built the Ark Royal and the Windsor Castle, is unlikely to be used as a ship building yard again.

Mike Ryder, from Reddington Finance Ltd, which now owns the site, said the demolition had to happen to make the area safe.

He told the Daily Post: "The cranes have not moved for 11 years and have become quite derelict and have also, in the eyes of the insurance company, become a liability.

"But it does form part of a bigger picture for the development of the regeneration of the former Cammell Laird shipyard."

Cammell Laird historian David Roberts, from Bebington, whose father Ivor was one of the first of the crane drivers in 1968, said: "The landscape will never be the same again."

Billy Suckley, 74, from Bebington, was one of the last men to drive the cranes and sounded the Last Post as the towering structures came down.

"It wasn't the easiest thing to drive, it took a while to get used to it.

"But once I got going, I was working on warships, cruise liners and cargo boats. You name it we could build it.

"It is very sad because ships will probably never be built here again."

Since VSEL axed 900 jobs and closed the original Cammell Laird in 1992, most of the construction side of the shipyard has lain untouched.

The second Cammell Laird, launched in 1995, retained only one third of the site for repair work and, when that too collapsed in 2001, new owner A&P only retained a small portion of that site.

The remaining 67 acres of industrial desert is now in Reddington's hands and, although it is littered with derelict buildings, it commands the finest views across the River Mersey to Liverpool.

Reddington paid #10m for the site in August and wants to build a leisure park including a indoor ski slope and 5,000-seat arena.

But the law states that the plot of land can only be used for heavy industrial work.

Wirral council has said it may consider changing the rules but only if people believe that Birkenhead will never again be a force in shipbuilding.

"It appears that many are taking for granted that shipbuilding and repair is dead in Wirral," said council leader Steve Foulkes. "But I believe there needs to be a wider debate, among everybody who holds Cammell Laird close to their heart, about what its future should be."